Is There a Link Between Baby Wipes and Food Allergies?

A recent animal study shows that there may be a link between an ingredient found in common personal-care products (including shampoo, toothpaste, body wash and soap) and allergies in babies. But while you may have heard that this research proves baby wipes can cause food allergies in babies, that's actually not the case — and there's no reason for you to stop using baby wipes. In actuality, the study didn't even examine baby wipes. If you're confused, we don't blame you! Here's what you need to know.

What the Study Looked At

The study, out of Northwestern University and published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found a way to essentially trigger allergies in mice: exposure to sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), which is an ingredient commonly found in soaps and other personal-care products; a genetic makeup that changes the skin's absorbency; exposure of the skin to dust-based allergens; and lastly, exposure to allergenic foods through the skin.

In setting up the research, Cook-Mills said she considered what might be triggering food allergies in infants.

"I thought about what are babies exposed to," she explained. "They are exposed to environmental allergens in dust in a home. They may not be eating food allergens as a newborn, but they are getting them on their skin. Say a sibling with peanut butter on her face kisses the baby. Or a parent is preparing food with peanuts and then handles the baby."

She and her team of researchers used clinical data on food allergy in humans and conducted a study using baby mice who had skin barrier gene mutations (the same genes as the ones in humans that are found in eczema and atopic dermatitis) to examine the effects of food allergens and environmental allergen exposure.

They first exposed the mice to food allergens like peanuts, which was found to have no effect. Then they exposed them to the SLS, which can disrupt the top protective layer of skin.

So why did all the media headlines you saw about this study say "baby wipes?" It's hard to say, but Cook-Mills told LifeHacker that the SLS was meant to act as an "example of a common cleansing ingredient." While SLS isn't found in many baby products, its milder — but still potentially irritating — cousin sodium laureth sulfate is added to many baby products, and it's possible some of the confusion stems from their (very) similar-sounding names.

What the Study Found

The results were clear: The study showed that a "perfect storm" of the four above-mentioned factors can induce allergies in mice. However — and this is important — the authors noted that all four factors had to be present in order to trigger the allergies; if "one factor was eliminated, then the food allergy did not develop," Joan M. Cook-Mills, lead study author and professor of allergy-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a press release.

What This Means for Parents

Considering the fact that as many as 4.2 million children in the U.S. had food allergies in 2015, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), these findings may be the breakthrough doctors have been hoping for in figuring out why some little ones develop them and others don’t. Food allergies rose 18 percent among kids under age 18 from 1997 to 2007, according to the NCHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number of hospitalizations related to food allergies have also increased among infants and children.

Since this study was done using mice, the findings don’t definitively apply to children at this point, and further research needs to be done. But it’s a big step forward in the search for answers — and may one day help us reverse the trend.

In the meantime, if you're worried about your little one developing a food allergy, there are a number of steps you can take to reduce his risk, including:

Wash your hands before touching your baby, especially if you’ve come in contact with allergens like nuts or eggs.

Read the labels on his skincare products: Previous research has suggested that soap residue and fragrances found in common products can irritate your baby's already sensitive skin (they may even cause eczema), so if you spot any dry, scaly, red patches on baby's skin or see any flaking, you may want to reach for fragrance-free products and avoid any products with SLS or sodium laureth sulfate.

Introduce peanuts early and often: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that you introduce peanut butter to baby at the same time you do other solid foods, sometime between four and 11 months. One note: It's important that you stick to peanut butter, not peanuts themselves, to reduce the choking risk to your LO, and you should always introduce new foods at home, so you can monitor for any potential allergic reactions.